


it's a delicate balance (so let's add on to the equation)

by girlsarewolves



Series: exchanges [10]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012), DC's Arrowverse, Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, F/F, F/M, Fic Exchange, Implied/Referenced Cheating, Multi, OT3, Polyamory, Pregnancy, Rare Pairs Exchange, Unplanned Pregnancy, established polyamory
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-20
Updated: 2019-08-20
Packaged: 2020-05-28 07:14:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,668
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19389130
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/girlsarewolves/pseuds/girlsarewolves
Summary: Being in a throuple with your ex and another vigilante from a different reality is tricky enough, so when Laurel gets some unexpected news, it's a lot to deal with.





	it's a delicate balance (so let's add on to the equation)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [VampirePaladin](https://archiveofourown.org/users/VampirePaladin/gifts).



* * *

Laurel stared down at the pregnancy test in her hand, the plus symbol on it staring right back, sending a flutter of emotions rushing through her - running the gambit from nervous to relieved to hopeful to terrified to joyful to overwhelmed, nothing sticking for too long. She felt like her brain was channel surfing, unable to stay on one feeling for too long as she tried to process the reality of the situation.

Pregnant.

She was pregnant.

Even as her mind played catch up with her racing heart and even faster emotion surfing, her empty hand moved to her stomach, palm flat, fingers slowly stretching out as it sunk in.

Kara was right. She was pregnant.

The plus sign blurred as tears welled up in her eyes, and she dropped to test to bring her hand to her mouth as something between a laugh and a sob escaped her. She was pregnant. The hand on her stomach pressed there tightly, protectively, and Laurel slowly sat down on the edge of the tub as she continued to laugh and cry.

She was pregnant!

* * *

It was tricky.

Being with Oliver again. Opening up about her bisexuality. Being with a woman. Being involved with a woman at the same time as Oliver. When they were The Arrow and Black Canary and with Supergirl, it was easy - they made a great team whenever they hopped over to Earth 38 or Kara stopped in for a visit to Earth 2. But when they were Oliver and Laurel and Kara, it was...interesting.

Not bad. But the first few months were definitely awkward.

There was some insecurity and jealousy and nervousness, on all sides. Communication with Oliver was a pain in the ass, but Laurel was relieved that Kara helped put in the work to make him talk - and listen. They all had their own baggage they brought into the relationship that had to be aired out.

The good times, though - the good times made the work worth it.

For a while Kara was the one in the middle. 

Laurel and Oliver, they - well they weren’t exactly back together. They had been spending more time together, being more open, and being honest about the fact that they still had feelings for each other despite everything. And then they opened up about feelings for Tommy still lingering - and Oliver had dropped a truth that Laurel had suspected for over a decade, even if she hadn’t always been conscious of it. That he was bisexual, that he’d been in love with Tommy, too, even if he hadn’t fully realized it or been able to come clean. In a way it had bonded them more, and Laurel had finally told him that she was like Sara. She was bi too. And then somehow it had come out they were attracted to Kara - or maybe they had just noticed how the other looked at her, whenever they were around her whether as Kara Danvers or Supergirl, whether they were Ollie and Laurel or Arrow and Black Canary.

They’d each encouraged the other to make a move. ‘Hey, she’s single, we’re single, one of us should go for it.’ Somehow that wound up being both of them, both of them telling her how they felt - about her and each other, about their history together, about this crazy notion that maybe, if she felt the same about them, they could give something a shot.

Laurel wasn’t sure who was more surprised when Kara said yes, she wanted to give it a try - herself or Ollie. 

It was tricky.

Because while Kara was the one in the middle, at least for the first several months, there was still something between Laurel and Oliver, and because they’d made an agreement that, to try and avoid it all blowing up in their faces, they wouldn’t be a couple on their own. They were with Kara, not each other. They were with Kara, together, but not...together, together. But sometimes they almost gave in, and sometimes they remembered why they weren’t, and it hurt.

Eventually, though, Kara told them that they needed to cut the bullshit and make it work - and she was right. They’d agreed they could be involved with Kara at the same time, and denying their remaining feelings for each other was only hurting that relationship, not helping.

After a while, they were taking turns on who was the filler of this weird vigilante sandwich. It wasn’t always easy or perfect, but...it worked.

And Laurel was, for the first time in a very long time, happy with where her life was beyond the good she was doing for Starling City. She made more that made her feel alive than going out as the Black Canary, she had more fire in her spirit than the thrill of her work as the DA. This tricky, delicate balance that they had found together and with Kara, it was everything to her.

But then they went to Earth 38 to visit Kara for a few days. 

But then Kara heard something and took a peak with her x-ray vision and told Laurel something that was going to change everything.

* * *

At least it was a little more clear cut than if she had been in this kind of relationship with Oliver and Tommy. There was no need for a paternity test in this situation. That was what Laurel was telling herself as her mind settled into the nervousness and anxiety and fear that her brain finally decided to stick with after the tears and laughter died down. 

Ollie was definitely the father.

Laurel was pregnant with Oliver’s kid.

They’d talked about kids in another lifetime. She’d wanted kids in another lifetime. She’d grieved the loss of that future when she’d found out about William, back when she’d thought that any future between them was out of the question and had foolishly thought that Oliver Queen couldn’t hurt her any more. Now she was sitting in Kara’s bathroom, pregnant with Ollie’s kid.

Her boyfriend and girlfriend were out at the moment, Supergirl bringing The Arrow along on a mission after a lower level threat, Laurel having claimed nausea to stay behind, and Kara had given her a look that promised enough time to find out for herself in privacy. It hadn’t been a complete lie - anxiety and confusion and apprehension had turned her stomach into an ever sinking feeling the moment she and Kara were alone and the other women whispered to her, “Laurel, I’m not sure if you’ve realized it yet, but...you’re pregnant.”

What did this mean for them? The three of them? For her and Kara, her and Ollie, Ollie and Kara?

What did this mean for  _ her _ ?

There were three more pregnancy tests sitting unopened in a plastic bag. Bought in a frenzied panic of denial, but Laurel had decided halfway home she wasn’t bothering with more than one - at least, not more than one the first confirmed what Kara had told her. She knew, deep down, that all of them could give her negatives and it wouldn’t change a thing. 

Something had been different with her lately, and Kara...Kara could see the truth of the matter. The pregnancy tests were superfluous, a weak attempt at peace of mind.

So much for that.

* * *

Something they agreed on early in the relationship was that Laurel and Oliver would give the other space to be with Kara on their own, and even after Laurel and Oliver dropped the pretense of not being together again, they remained loyal to that arrangement. It was important for them, all three of them, and Kara enjoyed having one on one time, still getting used to dating two people at once, too, even if those two people had so much shared history.

So when Laurel asked Oliver if it was all right if she and Kara went out to breakfast on their own, it wasn’t out of the ordinary or insensitive on her part. 

“Sure. It’s kind of nice getting to sleep in again,” he’d mumbled from the middle of the bed where he’d slept, reluctant to get up yet. There was a bruise forming on his side that Laurel made a mental note to make sure he iced later, and a few thin, pink lines trailing down his back that could have come from her or Kara. He was snoring again before they were out the door - and it felt good to laugh over it with Kara, something to lighten the mood before they discussed the subject both women knew was the cause of a girls’ only breakfast outing.

“There are three pregnancy tests under the bathroom sink, in the back, wrapped up in the bag,” Laurel started with, looking at the breakfast cafe’s menu and seeing nothing but that plus sign. “I bought four in a panic.”

“And the fourth? What did it say?” Kara’s voice was soft, gentle, reassuring. She was holding her menu up but was peering over the top of it, studying Laurel - her eyes were so expressive, inquisitive, like she could always see more even without using her x-ray vision. It never felt invasive though, not with her.

“What you said.” Laurel swallowed, lowering the menu but not able to look up at her girlfriend yet. She stared off into space, trying to find the words, the feelings, the emotions, but everything was still so overwhelming and inconsistent - one minute she was fine, the next terrified, the next overjoyed. “I’m pregnant. Kara...I’m pregnant.” She lifted her gaze then, staring across the table at Kara in a mix of shock and awe and apprehension. “I’m pregnant. With Ollie’s kid. With our child.”

Kara reached over - menu dropped and forgotten for the moment - and clasped Laurel’s hands. “And that, Laurel, is amazing. If you want it to be. Whatever you need, I am here for you.”

Laurel nodded, dazed, the realization hitting her all over again now that she was saying it out loud, now that she was telling someone else. Tears welled up in her eyes again, but this time she didn’t break down in hysterics. She smiled, slowly. “Kara...I’m pregnant with  _ our _ child.”

* * *

They decided - together - that Laurel would tell Oliver when they were back on Earth One. Since Kara had “found out” solo, Oliver also deserved that, too.

But Laurel had meant what she told Kara. This was their child. The three of them. Theirs. She had no idea yet how they were going to make it work, but she was determined that somehow, despite everything, they would. 

It was difficult, not telling Oliver the moment she was around him again. She was anxious over how he might react to the news, and still struggling with her own nerves over her own reactions as well. But she wanted to wait until they were back on their Earth, in her apartment that he practically lived in. Somewhere familiar and safe, where they would be at their most comfortable.

Two days later, after a long, last night at Kara’s - where very little sleep took place - they were back on Earth One, back in Starling City. Laurel had asked Ollie if he could give her a couple of hours before coming over - “I just want to make sure nothing came up at work without distraction,” she’d told him, smirking lightly.

“Me? Distracting?” He’d replied, while leaning in to nibble on her earlobe. “Never.”

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll see you in a few, Mr. Queen.”

He’d laughed at that, parting ways for the time being - and Laurel thought that maybe...maybe this would go really well. Maybe he wouldn’t panic and run or do something that would hurt her, maybe this time he wouldn’t pull away and drift towards someone else. Or maybe he would - maybe he would decide he only wanted to be with Kara, or that he couldn’t be with either of them because of being The Arrow, or maybe a hundred other reactions that would hurt her and remind her why it took her so damn long to forgive him.

And that was what scared her. Things had been intense and real that first time, too real for Oliver Queen to handle, and maybe he’d changed, but he was still Oliver. His vices were different now, but he still had vices. His fears might not be the same, but he still had them, still acted recklessly when they reared their heads. Laurel was terrified that this change would be the straw that broke the camel’s back, that ruined this tricky, delicate balance they’d found together, with Kara.

Whatever Oliver’s reaction, though, whatever his feelings about this, she’d made her decision.

* * *

She had ice cream at the ready when Oliver arrived. Either to celebrate or commiserate with, she was prepared - she even had enough to share, if things went the celebratory route. 

Laurel was pacing the floor, trying to walk out the jitters that were plaguing her as she waited for Ollie to get there, as she went over what she would say again and again, as she played out all the different ways it could go down that her anxious mind could come up with. She was fine. She was fine. Everything would be fine. Despite all the ways it could go south that she could think of and the countless other ways she hadn’t conjured up elaborate fantasies for her mind to act out - yet - she kept repeating that mantra.

She was fine. Ollie would be fine. Everything would be fine.

Oliver let himself in, knocking after unlocking the door with his spare key, and Laurel was on him instantly, cupping his face and pressing her mouth to his. He let out a startled but pleased groan and kissed back. The door clicked shut behind him. 

“I missed you too,” he breathed out, voice husky and soft and sending a pleasant shiver down Laurel’s spine that replaced her apprehension with something much more pleasant. He pulled back though, eyes opening and focusing on her, studying. “Hey, everything okay? You’ve been...off. To be honest, you’ve been off since not long after we reached National City.”

Laurel smiled at that, a warm feeling washing over her. Sometimes she didn’t give Ollie enough credit - and he’d be the first to admit that maybe that was his own stupid fault - but he paid attention. He knew her, and while the nerves weren’t completely gone, she no longer felt that terror that their second chance was over with.

“Yeah, everything is okay. But there is something I need to tell you.” She took him by the hand and led him into her living room, settling on the sofa and thankful he wasn’t pushing, wasn’t questioning, just watching her with this look that matched up all too well with how she’d been feeling all day.

“I’m pregnant.”

Ollie stared at her like he hadn’t heard her - or like he had, and was sure he had heard wrong. “What?”

“I know. We’ve been careful. Protection, I’m on the pill, but...it can still happen. And it happened. I took a test and Kara, well, she...she could tell. And then she looked and really could tell, and that’s why I’ve been acting so off, because I have been trying to figure out how I feel and how to tell you and how it would affect us, me - everything. But it’s the truth, and it’s ours, and I don’t want things to change with us and Kara, and she doesn’t either, but I am keeping the baby, and she knows that, and I need you to know that.”

Ollie was still just staring at her, silent, to the point that Laurel was starting to feel afraid again when finally, “Say it again.”

“I’m pregnant?”

His hands moved to her face, holding her gently, and he kissed her this time, soft and slow, thumbs gently stroking over her cheeks - and she  _ knew _ .

Everything was going to be fine.

* * *


End file.
